The Great Journey
by Erin T. Aardvark
Summary: The Paw Paws set out to find special plants needed to cure Laughing Paw after an encounter with poisonous gas. Based on the movie "Once Upon a Forest."
1. The Rabbit in the Trap

_AUTHOR'S NOTE: this is my first attempt at a "Paw Paws" fanfic in I don't know how long, so bear with me (no pun intended). This also draws inspiration from a favorite movie of my sister's "Once Upon a Forest," which belongs to 20th Century Fox. All the characters belong to Hanna-Barbera. Any other unfamiliar characters belong to me. Also, please forgive some of the Native American stereotypes I'm using later in the story, I seriously don't mean to offend anyone._

* * *

It was beautiful day in the forest. Princess Paw Paw and Brave Paw were flying around on their horses, Flying Cloud and Golden Thunder, making sure everything was running smoothly.

"Looks pretty good from here, Princess," Brave Paw said. "No signs of trouble, as far as I can see."

"You're right, Brave Paw," the princess said. "We should be heading back."

The princess was about to turn Flying Cloud around, when she heard a loud metallic snapping sound coming from below.

"What was _that_?" she asked.

"I don't know, but I didn't like the sound of it," Brave Paw said. "We'd better go check it out!"

Princess Paw Paw nodded, and she and Brave Paw flew down to the source of the sound. The two Paw Paws saw the problem right away. There was a rabbit with it's leg caught in a bear trap. Brave Paw jerked Golden Thunder's reins once he saw it.

"Just as I thought," he said. "An animal trap!"

"Oh that poor rabbit!" Princess Paw Paw shouted, as Flying Cloud landed. The princess climbed off her horse, and began to pet the rabbit's head, to try to calm it down.

"You poor thing!" she shouted. "Now don't worry, we'll have you out of this in no time!"

"But how?" Brave Paw asked. "I don't think we can open that thing by ourselves."

"We'd better get some back up. You go back to the village and get some of the others, and make sure you bring Medicine Paw. We might need him to patch up the rabbit's leg."

"Right. Come on, Golden Thunder!"

Golden Thunder whinnied, and took to the air, going back to the Paw Paws' village as fast as he could fly. When he got there, he didn't bother to land. He just stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled shrilly.

"All Paws on deck! All Paws on deck!" he called out as loud as he could. "We've got an emergency out in the forest!"

"What kind of emergency?" Mighty Paw asked.

"A rabbit with it's leg caught in an animal trap!" Brave Paw shouted. "The princess and I need as many Paw Paws as possible for this one, and we need Medicine Paw as well!"

"Right!" Mighty Paw shouted. "Come on, everybody!"

And with that, several Paw Paws followed Brave Paw out into the forest where Princess Paw Paw was waiting.

"Look at the size of this thing!" Trembly Paw shouted, once he saw the bear trap. "I don't think even you could open it, Mighty Paw!"

"Not by myself, anyway," Mighty Paw said. "We could try to pry it open."

"But we're going to need some leverage to do that," Brave Paw said.

"How about using this stick, Brave Paw?" one of the other Paw Paws asked, as he and four others brought in a huge stick that was ten times bigger than they were.

"Perfect, Drum Paw!" Brave Paw said. "Come on, Mighty Paw, help us stick this into the trap."

Mighty Paw joined Brave Paw, Drum Paw, and the other four Paw Paws as they managed to wedge the stick into the teeth of the trap. It still wasn't enough to get it open, however.

"Okay, everybody," Brave Paw said. "I'm going to need all of you to help us pull on this stick to open the trap."

Every last Paw Paw went to the stick, and pulled downward on it as hard as they could. Laughing Paw and her puppy, Pupooch, helped out by jumping on top of the stick in order to move it downward. Finally, the trap opened enough for Princess Paw Paw, her father Wise Paw, Medicine Paw, and his wife Nurse Paw, to get the rabbit's foot out as gently as they possibly could.

"Okay, Brave Paw, we got it!" the princess shouted. "You can let go of the stick now!"

"Thank goodness!" Trembly Paw shouted, straining, and he immediately let go, along with the others. Once they let go, the trap snapped shut again, with a loud SNAP!

"Yikes!" Trembly Paw shouted, and nearly jumped ten feet straight up.

"Relax, Trembly, it was just the trap closing on the stick," Brave Paw said, trying not to laugh.

"I knew that," Trembly said, trying to cover up his nervousness.

"How does it look, Medicine Paw?" Princess Paw Paw asked.

"Hmm, looks pretty bad here," Medicine Paw said, examining the rabbit's leg. "I'm going to need to operate. Nurse Paw, my dear, hand me my bag."

Nurse Paw nodded, and handed Medicine Paw his bag. Even though Medicine Paw was known to be a bit of a quack in the village, he _was_ a good doctor in an emergency. He took a bottle out of the bag, and poured the contents onto the rabbit's wound. The rabbit flinched, and squeaked a little, but the princess calmed him down.

"There, there," she said, petting the rabbit's nose. "I know it hurts, but it will only hurt for a little while."

After Medicine Paw cleaned the wound, he took a needle and thread out of his bag, and began sewing it up. Then he took a roll of bandages out, and he, Nurse Paw, and the princess wound it around the rabbit's leg.

"There you go, young fella," Medicine Paw said, patting the rabbit's leg. "You'll be good as new in a few weeks, if you take it easy and stay off that leg as much as possible."

The rabbit sighed, and chattered. Then he nuzzled Medicine Paw with his nose, as well as the princess.

"You're welcome!" Princess Paw Paw laughed. "We'll be back in a couple of days to see how you're doing. You take care of yourself now."

"And be careful out there," Brave Paw said.

The rabbit nodded, and began to hop off, carefully, so as not to aggravate his injured leg. Before he left, he turned to the Paw Paws, and waved goodbye to them.


	2. Family Affairs

Things were pretty normal at the Paw Paws' village after that. Mighty Paw and Trembly were storing some food when two small Paw Paws came running by, chasing each other, practically yelling at the tops of their voices. As they did, Trembly flinched, and then groaned.

"Mighty Paw, would you _please_ do _some_ thing about those two?!" he shouted. "They're wearing my last nerves thin."

"And you don't have much nerve, either," Mighty Paw said.

"Oh hardy har, har," Trembly said, sarcastically. "But still, something's gotta be done about those twins!"

"Aw, Loud Paw and Little Paw are just little kids! You know how kids are! Besides, what do you expect _me_ to do about them?"

"Well, they're _your_ brother and sister, aren't they?"

"Well, yeah, but . . . ."

Before Mighty Paw could finish, Loud Paw and Little Paw came running by again, still shrieking at the tops of their voices. Mighty Paw sighed, stuck two fingers in his mouth, and whistled loudly, in order to be heard over his two siblings. Loud Paw and Little Paw stopped, and stared at their big brother.

"Okay, you two, cut it out," Mighty Paw said. "You're gonna wind up giving the entire village a headache."

"That's what Mama said we were doing to her," Little Paw said. "That's why she sent us to play outside."

"Ho boy," Trembly groaned.

Mighty Paw sighed, took the twins by their hands, and began walking toward one of the huts in the village. Outside of the hut, he found one of his other sisters, Posey Paw, weaving a blanket.

"Hey, Posey Paw, do me a big favor and watch these two monsters for awhile," he said. "They're driving us crazy."

"So what else is new?" Posey Paw sighed.

"Yeah, I know, but I can't watch them right now, I'm busy!"

"I'm busy, too, you know. Everyone in the entire village is busy!"

"Yeah, but weaving doesn't require a lot of concentration."

"It does sometimes."

"Please, Posey Paw? Even though I'm the oldest, they don't listen to me! They listen to you, though, and you're the second oldest."

"Oh, okay, I'll watch them."

"Thanks."

Mighty Paw then went back to the food storage, and groaned.

"What's up?" Trembly asked.

"Being the oldest of seven isn't easy," Mighty Paw sighed. "Especially when it comes to the twins! Boy, sometimes I wish those two were never even born!"

"Makes me glad I only have one sister."

"At least she's only three years younger than you are. Not like that huge age gap between me and the twins!"

"Speaking of my sister . . . ."

While Trembly and Mighty Paw had been talking, Trembly's younger sister, Lily Paw, was coming up to them, along with Laughing Paw and Pupooch. The two of them were carrying a basket full of clothes (while Pupooch was riding in a carrier that Laughing Paw carried).

"Trembly, give us a hand with the laundry, will you?" Lily Paw said.

"I'm a little busy at the moment, Lily Paw," Trembly said. "In case you haven't noticed, Mighty Paw and I are restocking our food supply."

"We need someone tall to reach the clothesline," Laughing Paw said. "And you're taller than the two of us."

"Go ahead, Trembly," Mighty Paw said. "I can handle the food storage by myself."

"Fine," Trembly sighed, then followed Laughing Paw and Lily Paw out to the clothesline.

"I don't see why you two needed me to do this for you," Trembly said. "Can't you get a box or something to stand on?"

"You know I'm afraid of heights!" Lily Paw shouted.

"Like brother like sister, huh, Trembly Paw?" Laughing Paw asked. "Hee, hee!"

" _Very_ funny!" Trembly shouted, glaring at Laughing Paw. "And besides, Lily, it's not like standing on a box just to reach the clothesline is any great height to begin with."

"I know, but it's nice to have a big, brave, strong brother to help you," Lily Paw said.

"Yeah, but instead you got stuck with Trembly Paw," Mighty Paw said, as he walked past them. Laughing Paw had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing so hard.

"You're a million laughs, Mighty Paw!" Trembly shouted. "But seriously, Lily, you've been doing this since we were kids. You're always asking me to help you do everything! When are you going to learn to do things for yourself?"

"Trembly does have a point, Lily," Laughing Paw said.

"You mean not just to his head?" Mighty Paw asked.

"One more crack like that, Mighty Paw, and I'll . . . ." Trembly started.

"All right, you guys, cut it out," Princess Paw Paw said. "I need you two to help me and Brave Paw with something. Wise Paw wants us to go out into the forest and look for more animal traps."

"M-m-more t-t-t-traps?" Trembly asked, nervously. "Umm, uhh, I'd love to help you out there, Princess, but . . . . but I've got to help my sister with the laundry!"

"And this is exactly why I'm never going to learn to do things for myself," Lily Paw said.

Laughing Paw began giggling at that one, and Mighty Paw started right out laughing. Trembly shot both of them glares.

"Come on, Trembly," Princess Paw Paw said. "You know the four of us are a great team. And besides, we'll be on the horses at all times, except when we're setting off the traps."

"Do I have any other choice?" Trembly asked.

"Not really," Mighty Paw said. "Let's go."


	3. The Leak

Within moments, Princess Paw Paw, Brave Paw, Mighty Paw, and Trembly were flying through the forest, lower than they normally would have been, considering the traps might have been harder to see from up high. They had found quite a bit of them.

"Here's another one," Brave Paw said, setting off a bear trap with a rock.

"At least we haven't found any more animals caught in them," Mighty Paw said, using a stick to close the door of a cage.

"And I hope we don't," Trembly said. "I don't think my stomach could handle seeing another sight like that rabbit. Yee _eeccchhhh_!"

"I agree, Trembly," the princess said.

For the rest of the afternoon, the four Paw Paws flew around, setting off every trap they could find. Thankfully, there were no animals caught in them. At one point, they came to the edge of the forest, far away from their village, where there was a stretch of road that separated two parts of the forest.

"I'd say we're almost through," Brave Paw said.

"Good," Trembly said. "Let's turn back and head for home."

"We still have to check the other side of the forest," Princess Paw Paw said.

"Do we have to?" Trembly asked, nervously. "I'm getting a bad feeling about being here . . . ."

"You _always_ get a bad feeling about being _any_ where!" Mighty Paw shouted. "Come on!"

"Wait a minute, fellas," the princess said. "Listen!"

The foursome stopped, and listened for a minute. Brave Paw landed Golden Thunder, got off, stepped out into the middle of the road, and put his ear to the ground.

"Yeah, it sounds like something's coming," he said. "But I'm not sure what."

Flying Cloud suddenly let out a panicked sounding whinny. The other Paw Paws looked, and saw a gigantic car coming down the road, at a very fast pace.

"Brave Paw! Look out!" Princess Paw Paw shouted. Brave Paw looked up, and saw the car coming, right at him.

"Yikes!" he shouted, and he darted for his friends as fast as he could.

The driver of the car didn't even notice (considering the Paw Paws are so small), and kept right on going, throwing a glass bottle out of the window along the way. Once the bottle hit the pavement, it shattered to pieces. Thankfully, Brave Paw had gotten out of the way in time. The other Paw Paws dismounted, and ran to him, all talking at once.

"Are you okay, Brave Paw?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Yeah, I'm okay," Brave Paw said. "But what was that thing?"

"S-s-s-sounded like some kind of monster!" Trembly shouted, as he started shaking.

"Well, whatever it was, it's long gone now," the princess said. "We'd better start heading back to the village. It'll be dark soon."

The others agreed, mounted Flying Cloud and Golden Thunder, and began to head back. When the four Paw Paws returned to the village, and gave Wise Paw their report.

"We've managed to set off all the traps we could find, Father," Princess Paw Paw said. "But there still might be more out there."

"We only came back because there was no way we could see where the traps are in the dark," Brave Paw said. "We'll go back out tomorrow and look for more."

"And hope no other animals get caught in them in the meantime," Mighty Paw said.

"I don't understand it," Laughing Paw said. "Who would want to trap the animals of the forest, anyway?"

"Hmmph," Medicine Paw grumbled under his breath. "Humans. Good for nothing, selfish monsters, that's what they are."

"What did you say, Medicine Paw?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Oh never mind, never mind," Medicine Paw said. "It's nothing, really. Forget I even mentioned it."

And with that, Medicine Paw walked away. The others stared after him, wondering what in the world he was talking about.

"Father, did Medicine Paw say what I think he said?" Princess Paw Paw asked.

"Yes, my child," Wise Paw said. "He said that humans were responsible for the traps set in the forest."

"Humans?" Brave Paw asked. "But why would humans do something like that?"

"I always thought humans were good creatures," Princess Paw Paw said.

"Some are, and yet, some aren't," Wise Paw said. "Some humans can be absolute monsters, far worse than Dark Paw is."

"But are they all like that?" Laughing Paw asked.

"Medicine Paw sure seems to think so," Mighty Paw said.

"As I said, some are, and some aren't," Wise Paw said. "But now is not the time for that, my children."

Wise Paw then walked off. The other Paw Paws just looked at each other oddly. They didn't know what to say, or think for that matter. Mighty Paw then felt a tug on his loin cloth, and looked down, to find Little Paw standing there.

"Mighty Paw, what's a human?" she asked.

"What's a human?" Mighty Paw repeated. "Well, uhhh . . . . ummm . . . . uhhh . . . ."

"What's the matter, Mighty Paw?" Trembly asked. "Don't you know what a human is?"

"Don't you?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Of course I do!" Trembly shouted.

"Then what is it?" Little Paw asked.

"Humans are . . . . eeehhh . . . ." Trembly started, and then he realized something. He wasn't quite sure he even knew at all.

"Little Paw, humans are big creatures that live outside of the forest," Brave Paw said. "They're tall, and they walk on two legs, like we do, but unlike us, they're mostly hairless."

"Are they bad?" Little Paw asked.

"They must be if they go around trying to trap animals," Laughing Paw said.

"It's like Wise Paw said," Brave Paw replied. "Some are good, and some are bad, but I don't know for sure. I've never seen one. They don't usually come this deep into the forest where we are."

"Don't worry about it, Little Paw," Princess Paw Paw said. "We're as safe as can be from any humans, bad or not."

The next morning, while the Paw Paws were out looking for more animal traps, a large truck was coming down the road. It was a gigantic tank truck, carrying poisonous gas. Being so large, the driver didn't notice the broken bottle in the road, and ran over it, causing one of it's tires to blow out. The truck skidded off the road, through a guard rail, and down the side of an embankment, crashing against a tree. The driver wrenched open the door of the truck's cab, and managed to climb out. He wasn't hurt, just a bit dazed. He went to check out the back of his truck, and what he saw managed to shake him out of that daze.

"Holy Toledo, a leak!" he shouted. "I've got to get help!"

And with that, the driver raced off. Gas from the leak began floating through the forest, causing all of the flowers in it's path to wilt. Several birds began squawking, and flying off as fast as they could. Many of the animals began to panic when they saw the birds flying off, and began following them.

Meanwhile, the Paw Paws were still on their search for traps. They hadn't found any since the day before.

"I think we've managed to find them all, Princess," Brave Paw said.

"Good," Princess Paw Paw replied. "If we're lucky, the humans won't come back to plant some more."

"I hope not," Laughing Paw said. "I still don't understand why anyone would do that."

Pupooch barked in agreement, but then stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong, Pupooch?" Laughing Paw asked.

Before anyone could answer, the group saw a very large flock of birds pass by overhead, larger than any of the Paw Paws had ever seen before.

"Is it migration time already?" Mighty Paw asked.

"That's definitely not normal," Brave Paw said. "I wonder what's up with them?"

Pupooch began whimpering, and then he ran off, barking his head off. Immediately, Laughing Paw ran after him.

"Pupooch, come back here!" she shouted.

"You think something's wrong?" Mighty Paw asked.

"No doubt about it," Princess Paw Paw said.

"We'd better head back to the village," Trembly said.

"We've got to go find Laughing Paw and Pupooch first," Brave Paw said. "Come on!"

Mighty Paw jumped on Golden Thunder with Brave Paw, and took off. Trembly, somewhat reluctantly, climbed on the back of Flying Cloud with the princess, and they followed Golden Thunder. They managed to catch up with Pupooch, who was standing at a hole by the trees, barking like crazy. Laughing Paw was nowhere to be found.

"What's wrong, Pupooch?" Princess Paw Paw asked. Pupooch whimpered, and pointed to the hole.

"Where's Laughing Paw?" Brave Paw asked.

"And what's that funny smell?" Mighty Paw asked.

Pupooch pointed to the hole, and began whining.

"Is Laughing Paw down there?" Brave Paw asked. Pupooch nodded, and barked frantically.

"Laughing Paw!" Brave Paw called. "Laughing Paw! Are you down there?!"

The only answer Brave Paw got was his own echo. He looked at the others, nervously.

"Do you think she's in trouble?" Trembly asked.

"Think nothing," Brave Paw said. "I _know_ she's in trouble! We've got to get down there!"

Brave Paw was about to go in, but Pupooch grabbed his pant leg, and whimpered. He couldn't let the others go down there.

"There must be something bad down there," Mighty Paw said. "Or else Pupooch wouldn't try to stop us from going in. Think it has anything to do with that funny smell?"

"It has to be," Trembly said. Then he groaned, and began backing away from the hole. "And whatever it is, it's making me sick to my stomach!"

"I don't think we can wait," Princess Paw Paw said. "I'm going in!"

"No Princess!" Brave Paw shouted.

"It might be too dangerous!" Trembly shouted.

Pupooch barked in protest, but nothing was going to stop the princess. She went into the hole, and once she smelled the gas, she covered her mouth and nose with the top of her dress. She looked around the hole, which was filled with the noxious fumes, and heard a small cough from nearby. She looked in the direction the cough had come from, and found Laughing Paw lying unconscious. Princess Paw Paw gasped, and ran to her young friend.

"Laughing Paw!" she shouted.

Taking a deep breath (but not enough of one to breathe in the gas), Princess Paw Paw grabbed Laughing Paw by the arms, and dragged her out of the hole as fast as she could. Once she was out, she began coughing. Immediately, Mighty Paw lifted Laughing Paw into his arms.

"Are you all right, Princess?" Brave Paw asked.

"I'm fine," Princess Paw Paw said. "But I don't think Laughing Paw is."

Laughing Paw coughed, and whimpered. The others just stood there, not knowing what to do. Pupooch began whining again.

"Mighty Paw, you come with me to Wise Paw," Princess Paw Paw said. "Brave Paw, you and Trembly sound the alarm. And hurry!"

"Right, Princess!" Brave Paw shouted, and he and Trembly raced to Golden Thunder, while Mighty Paw carried Laughing Paw to Flying Cloud. There wasn't a moment to lose.


	4. Medicine Paw vs the Humans

Once Brave Paw and Trembly had sounded the alarm, they went back to the village, only to find it deserted. They were hoping that there would be some of the other Paw Paws there, but it was empty.

"Looks like everyone evacuated," Brave Paw said.

"It can't be," Trembly said. "Lily Paw wouldn't do that, not without me she wouldn't! She . . . . she couldn't have! She _can't_ do anything without me! And what about Wise Paw and the princess?!"

Before Brave Paw could answer, he heard a whinny coming from above. He and Trembly looked up, and saw Princess Paw Paw hovering over the village.

"Princess!" Brave Paw shouted, as Flying Cloud came down for a landing. "Where is everybody?"

"I don't know," Princess Paw Paw said. "But Wise Paw, Medicine Paw, and Nurse Paw were the only ones here when Mighty Paw, Pupooch and I came back with Laughing Paw."

"Where are they now?" Trembly asked.

"Follow me," the princess said. "They're at an emergency station they built a long time ago, for just such an occasion."

Brave Paw and Trembly practically jumped on Golden Thunder, and followed Princess Paw Paw and Flying Cloud. Mighty Paw was waiting for them outside of a large tent-like structure, with Pupooch.

"Is there anyone else left in the village?" he asked.

"No," Brave Paw said. "It's been deserted."

"Hopefully they all evacuated," the princess said.

"How's Laughing Paw?" Trembly asked.

"She's really sick," Mighty Paw said, as Pupooch whimpered. "And I mean _really_ sick! Medicine Paw's looking her over now."

The four Paw Paws went inside the tent. Wise Paw was waiting for them.

"Father, what's wrong with Laughing Paw?" Princess Paw Paw asked. "Is it serious?"

"I'm afraid it is," Wise Paw said, grimly. "The poor child has come into contact with a deadly gas."

"How bad is it?" Brave Paw asked.

Before Wise Paw could answer, Medicine Paw came over to them, and he was fit to be tied. He was digging through his medical bag, grumbling.

"I knew they'd come to this sooner or later!" he shouted. "I told you they were monsters, didn't I?!"

"Calm down, Medicine Paw," Nurse Paw said, following her husband. "You're going to give yourself an ulcer."

"What do I care about ulcers?!" Medicine Paw shouted. "Those humans have gone too far this time! Too far!"

"What's going on?" Brave Paw asked. "What do you mean the humans have gone too far this time?"

"And what do you mean humans are m-m-monsters?" Trembly asked, nervously.

"It's nothing," Nurse Paw said. "Absolutely nothing."

"Nothing?!" Medicine Paw yelled. "You call killing innocent children nothing?! If that doesn't prove they're monsters than nothing does!"

"I don't understand," Princess Paw Paw asked. "Why are you so positive humans are monsters, Medicine Paw?"

"They just are!" Medicine Paw shouted. "They are the most vicious, vile, evil, monstrous beings on the face of the earth!"

"But _why_?" Brave Paw asked. "What have you got against the humans, anyway, Medicine Paw?"

"Dear," Nurse Paw said, putting her hand on Medicine Paw's shoulder. "I think it's time we told them."

"Told us what?" Mighty Paw asked. Medicine Paw heaved a deep sigh, and sat down, as did the others.

"It happened a long, long time ago," Medicine Paw said. "Before you four were even born. Back when I was just a young doctor, about your age, Princess. Nurse Paw and I were out making the rounds in the forest with our two children."

"I didn't know you two had any children," Trembly said.

"Hardly anyone knows we did," Nurse Paw said. "We don't like to talk about what happened, but it's time we did."

"We were checking on a family of badgers, when we heard a strange noise," Medicine Paw continued. "We ran for the entrance, and that's when we first saw them . . . . those humans. They had large barrels full of some kind of mist that was killing everything in sight, and they were setting traps for all the animals in the forest. Nurse Paw and I told our children to run away as fast as they could . . . . but the next thing we knew, we heard them yelling, and then one of those traps went off, and then . . . . silence."

The other Paw Paws stared at Medicine Paw in shock. Nurse Paw had tears running down her face. It was obvious it was hard for her to talk about this memory. Brave Paw stood up and patted her shoulder, comfortingly.

"No wonder you think humans are such monsters," he said.

"And they are," Medicine Paw said. "What hurts me the most is there was nothing I could do for my children. Do you realize how much it hurts to know you're a parent who can't do a thing for their own child?"

The others were silent for a moment. They couldn't think of anything to say. The moment of silence was broken then, by Laughing Paw coughing and moaning.

"And I don't know if I can do anything for Laughing Paw, either," Medicine Paw sighed. "I don't have the herbs I need to treat her."

"We need eye bright for the burns on her eyes," Wise Paw said. "And lungwort to repair the damage to her lungs."

"But how do we find them?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Yeah, everything around here is dead," Trembly replied.

"We'll just have to go find them somewhere else," Brave Paw said.

"And you best hurry," Wise Paw said. "You only have two days to find them, or else . . . ."

"Or else I'm afraid it will be too late for Laughing Paw," Medicine Paw said.

"Then we'd better get started," Mighty Paw said.

"Right," Princess Paw Paw said, and she, Brave Paw, and Mighty Paw started out.

"Wait, daughter, I'm afraid this mission might be too dangerous," Wise Paw said. "And there are still other animals out there that need help."

"You're right, Father," Princess Paw Paw asked. "I'm not afraid of the danger involved in looking for the herbs, but I think I'd better stay behind to look after the rest of the animals. Nurse Paw can help me. But we might need Golden Thunder's help, if that's all right, Brave Paw."

"Okay, then," Brave Paw said. "Mighty Paw and I will handle it ourselves."

"Wait a minute," Trembly said. "I don't think it's such a good idea for only two of you to go. Maybe you should have a third, for back-up."

"Great idea, Trembly!" Mighty Paw shouted. "Thanks for volunteering!"

"Who, me?" Trembly asked. "Ahhh, I'd love to go, really I would, but I . . . . uhh, I . . . . eehhhh . . . ."

Trembly's train of thought was interrupted when he heard Pupooch whimpering. He glanced over, and took a good look at Laughing Paw. She coughed a bit, and moaned, looking absolutely miserable. Trembly choked a bit. There was absolutely no way in the world he could back out of this, not without feeling like a heel.

"How soon do we leave?" he asked.

"Right away!" Brave Paw shouted. "Come on, we've got a long way to go, especially without the horses!"

"Right!" Mighty Paw shouted, and he and Brave Paw went to pack a few things.

"I hope I don't regret this later," Trembly muttered.


	5. Owl's Well That Ends Well

At daybreak, Brave Paw, Mighty Paw, and Trembly were ready to go on their journey. They were just making some last minute preparations.

"Have we got everything?" Brave Paw asked.

"I think so," Mighty Paw said, putting some rope into his backpack.

"Anybody have any idea where we're going to start?" Trembly asked, examining a map with his magnifying glass. "I don't think this map will help us much. It only goes to the edge of the forest."

"Then we'll just have to use our wits," Brave Paw said, taking the magnifying glass and putting it in his pocket.

"I still wish we were taking the horses," Trembly said, rolling up the map.

"I know, but the princess and Nurse Paw need both Flying Cloud and Golden Thunder to look for any animals that might still be around the forest," Brave Paw said.

"Good luck, fellas," Princess Paw Paw said, as the trio left the station. "We're counting on you!"

"Don't worry, Princess," Brave Paw said. "We won't let you, or Laughing Paw, down."

"Before you leave, my children, I wish to give you some advice," Wise Paw said. "Stick together, and work together."

"And stay away from those monstrous humans," Medicine Paw said.

"We will," Brave Paw said, and with that, the trio was on their way.

Brave Paw, Mighty Paw, and Trembly had traveled through the forest for hours. By nightfall, Mighty Paw and Trembly were ready to drop, but Brave Paw seemed to be still full of energy.

"Come on, you two!" he shouted. "We've got to get moving!"

"Can't we stop for a minute?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Yeah, don't you think we've gone far enough for one day?" Trembly asked.

"We can't stop now," Brave Paw said. "You heard Wise Paw. We only have two days to get the herbs for Laughing Paw, and we have to go as far as we can tonight."

"I don't think it's such a good idea," Mighty Paw said, looking into the distance. The only thing there was an old tree. There was no other foliage around.

"I'm with Mighty Paw," Trembly said. "There's no cover. What if there's something out there? There's nowhere to hide!"

"Okay, okay," Brave Paw said. "If it makes you guys feel any better, we'll run for that tree, stop to catch our breath, and then plan the next move from there."

Mighty Paw and Trembly looked at each other. They weren't sure this was one of Brave Paw's better ideas, but they went along with it anyway. The three Paw Paws then ran for the tree, but Mighty Paw stopped.

"Wait a minute, you guys, I gotta stop!" he shouted, breathlessly.

"We can't stop now!" Brave Paw shouted.

"Easy for you to say," Mighty Paw said. "You're not the one carrying all the supplies!"

"All right, all right," Brave Paw said. "We'll help you carry them, but we've got to keep moving!"

Brave Paw grabbed onto Mighty Paw's backpack in an attempt to help empty it out and divide up the supplies. While he was doing that, Trembly glanced around, getting a nervous feeling in the pit of his stomach. He happened to look at the tree they were headed for, and saw something flash from it. Then, he saw what appeared to be two lights coming toward him, and the other two Paw Paws.

"Uuuhhhh, fellas . . . ." he said, nervously.

"What, Trembly Paw?" Brave Paw asked. Unfortunately, Trembly couldn't answer him coherently. All that was coming out of his mouth was a bunch of nervous stammering.

"What's the matter with you, Trembly?" Mighty Paw asked.

"He's probably just seeing something that isn't there again," Brave Paw said.

"I'll bet it's his own shadow he's afraid of," Mighty Paw said.

"LOOK OUT!" Trembly finally managed to scream, but his warning came too late. The minute he yelled, an owl swooped down, and snatched Brave Paw in it's foot. Since he had been holding onto Mighty Paw's backpack, Mighty Paw was also swooped up. Trembly nervously latched onto Mighty Paw's leg. He knew it wouldn't do any good, but he had to do _some_ thing!

"Hang on, fellas!" Brave Paw shouted.

"I'm hanging, I'm hanging!" Trembly shouted.

"Just don't let go, Brave Paw!" Mighty Paw shouted.

Unfortunately, Brave Paw couldn't hold onto the backpack, and it slipped out of his grip. Mighty Paw and Trembly fell to the ground, screaming. Once they landed, they rolled down a small hill, with their supplies spilling out of it. They both groaned, and stood up, only to realize Brave Paw was still in the owl's clutches.

"Brave Paw!" Mighty Paw shouted.

"Wh-wh-what are we gonna do now?" Trembly asked, starting to shake a little.

"We've got to follow it!" Mighty Paw shouted. "Come on!"

"Right, you go follow it, and I'll stay here and be on the look out!"

"For what? More owls?"

"More owls? Uhhh, on second thought, I'd better go with you."

And with that, Mighty Paw and Trembly ran toward the tree, where the owl was carrying Brave Paw. Once the owl reached the tree, it crawled into it's hole. Brave Paw tried pulling himself lose, but he wasn't having much luck. He stopped for a minute, and saw that there were several thorny branches inside of the hole. He ripped a thorn off, and jammed it into the owl's leg.

"Take that, you big buzzard!" he shouted.

The owl screeched loudly, and let go of Brave Paw. Unfortunately, he wasn't out of the woods yet. He managed to duck underneath some of the thorns, while the owl searched for him. He couldn't run for the hole without the owl seeing him.

At that moment, Trembly and Mighty Paw reached the tree, and looked up. Immediately, Mighty Paw began climbing it.

"We're not gonna climb all the way up there, are we?" Trembly asked.

"What'd you expect us to do?" Mighty Paw asked. "Dig our way up? Come on! We have to help Brave Paw!"

Trembly gulped, and began climbing after Mighty Paw. Inside the tree, Brave Paw continued to watch the owl. He saw that he finally had a clear shot at the opening, and slowly made his way toward it, going behind the owl so he wouldn't be seen. Unfortunately, his pant leg got caught on a thorn as he tried to climb out, causing Trembly's magnifying glass to fall out of his pocket. The noise it made when it landed attracted the owl's attention. It screeched, and started to move toward Brave Paw. Quickly, Brave Paw grabbed the magnifying glass, held it in front of his mouth, and growled as loud as he could. The magnifying glass made his teeth look like razor sharp fangs. The owl screeched once more, panicked, and began flapping it's wings. This caused a breeze to stir, and it knocked Brave Paw clear out of the tree.

"Whooooaaaaaa!" he shouted as he fell.

Mighty Paw and Trembly were still making their way up the tree, unknowingly that Brave Paw was on his way down, since they were climbing slowly.

"Do you see him yet?" Trembly asked. Mighty Paw looked up, and saw Brave Paw coming down toward them.

"Yup," Mighty Paw said, and immediately, Brave Paw smacked into him. The momentum caused Mighty Paw to smack into Trembly, and the three of them fell to the ground with a THUD! Trembly hit the ground first, followed by Mighty Paw on top of him, and then Brave Paw on top of Mighty Paw. All three of them groaned.

"Good thing you're a slow climber, huh, Trembly?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Yeah," Trembly groaned, sounding sarcastic. "Good thing. Ooooh!"

"Sorry," Brave Paw said, a bit sheepishly, as he and Mighty Paw got up. Suddenly, there was a screech, and the owl flew out of the tree.

"It's coming back!" Brave Paw shouted. "Run for it!"

The three Paw Paws immediately made a mad dash away from the tree, with the owl close behind them.

"It's right on top of us!" Mighty Paw shouted. "What do we do now?!"

"Follow me!" Trembly shouted. "Over there!"

Trembly pointed to a log in the distance. There was enough room underneath it for he, Brave Paw, and Mighty Paw to hide, but there was no way the owl would be able to get them out. The trio practically dove underneath it. The owl screeched, and tried to scratch his way toward the three Paw Paws, but gave up shortly afterwards. Once he flew away, the boys heaved huge sighs of relief.

"I'm glad _that's_ over!" Brave Paw shouted.

" _You're_ glad it's over!" Trembly shouted.

"Well, where are we now?" Mighty Paw asked.

"I don't know, give me the map and we'll find out," Brave Paw said.

"I don't have the map," Mighty Paw said. "I thought Trembly had the map."

"I put it in the backpack," Trembly said.

Mighty Paw took off his backpack and searched through it. Then he turned it upside down, and dumped everything that was inside it out. The only thing that came out was some rope, and a couple of tools.

"Uh oh," he said. "It must have fallen out with the rest of the supplies when we fell."

"Well, that's just great!" Trembly shouted. "What are we going do to now? We're hopelessly lost, and now we don't have any food, either!"

"Don't panic, Trembly," Brave Paw said. "We'll be able to get back on track again, and we're sure to find some more food. Besides, the worst is probably over by now."

"I hope so," Trembly said.

"Sure," Mighty Paw said. "After all, things couldn't possibly get any- _mmmph_!"

"Don't say it!" Trembly shouted, clapping his hand over Mighty Paw's mouth before he could finish that sentence. "You know what always happens when someone says that phrase!"

"Oh, sorry," Mighty Paw said. Then he yawned. "Well, anyway, let's get some sleep."

"Good idea," Brave Paw said, yawning himself. "It's getting pretty late, and we're going to need our strength."

The boys then began to make themselves comfortable on the ground in order to go to sleep. They were still in for a long trip.


	6. The Construction Site

The next morning, the boys continued along their way, even though they had no idea where they were going. They came along a strange path, with gigantic mounds of dirt surrounding them. As they were walking, a large shadow began to loom over them. They looked up and saw a gigantic yellow machine above them. It was an excavator. The boys had wandered into a construction site, but since they lived so deep in the forest, they didn't know that. To them, these machines looked like monsters.

"Uh oh . . . ." Trembly said, nervously.

"Run!" Brave Paw shouted.

The three Paw Paws dashed away from the excavator, just as the bucket hit the ground, and scooped up the dirt, right where they had been standing. They looked around for a place to hide, and found a stack of concrete tubes nearby. Quickly, they ran inside one of them.

"We should be safe in here," Mighty Paw said.

Suddenly, the tube jerked, and our heroes felt they were being lifted into the air. Then they started sliding around inside of it.

"Some kinda safe, Mighty Paw!" Trembly shouted.

"Whoooaaaa!" Brave Paw shouted. "Hang on, fellas!"

"To what?" Mighty Paw asked.

Before Brave Paw could respond, the crane turned the tube, and the three Paw Paws fell out of it, right into the dirt. However, they didn't get a chance to do anything before the excavator scooped them up, and dumped them to the side, burying them in a mound. The boys managed to crawl out of it, though, coughing a little from the dust, but none worse for wear.

"Hey, how about that?" Mighty Paw said. "I don't think he wanted to eat us after all."

"M-m-m-maybe not," Trembly said, nervously. "But I think _that_ one does!"

Brave Paw and Mighty Paw looked, and saw a bulldozer heading straight for them. They made a mad dash out of the mound, just as the bulldozer scooped up the dirt. But they weren't out of the woods yet. The next thing that came at them was a giant steam roller. Once again, the boys ran as fast as they could. Brave Paw managed to find a way to escape it. There was a sewer grate close by, and he jumped down, holding onto the grate so he wouldn't fall in completely. Trembly jumped in next, taking Brave Paw's lead. Mighty Paw was about to follow them, but he got stuck halfway. The grate slats were too narrow for his muscular build.

"I'm stuck!" he shouted.

"Try sucking in your stomach," Trembly suggested.

"It's not my stomach that's the problem!" Mighty Paw retorted.

"Don't worry, Mighty Paw," Brave Paw said. "I'll give you a hand!"

Brave Paw jumped off the grate and onto Mighty Paw's legs, using his weight to try to pull his friend under, but it wasn't enough.

"Trembly, help me!" Brave Paw shouted.

"I don't know if I . . . ." Trembly said, nervously.

"Hurry, that thing's coming closer!" Mighty Paw shouted.

Trembly gulped, and jumped onto Mighty Paw's other leg, in an attempt to help pull the larger Paw Paw to safety. As Brave Paw and Trembly tried to pull, Mighty Paw tried wiggling to see if that would help. Finally, just as the steam roller reached the grate, Mighty Paw fell through, as did Brave Paw and Trembly. All three of them landed in the water.

KER-SPLASH!

Once they hit the water, Trembly began flailing his arms, in a complete panic.

"Help, help! I'm drowning!" he yelled. "I'm drowning!"

Brave Paw grabbed Trembly's arm, and pulled him up.

"Have you tried standing up?" he asked. Trembly looked, stood up, and realized the water was only knee-deep.

"Oh," he said, then he laughed sheepishly. "I knew that."

"Now where are we?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Underground, somewhere," Brave Paw said. "Come on, we're not going to help Laughing Paw by just standing here all day."

"Wait a minute," Mighty Paw said. "Do you guys hear something?"

Brave Paw and Trembly stopped, and listened. Then they noticed the water they were standing in was drying up. The three Paw Paws looked at each other, and that's when they heard the sound of rushing water. They looked down the sewer, and found a huge gush of water coming straight for them. They tried to run, but they weren't fast enough, and got caught up in it. They wound up being pushed through a pipe, and out of a storm drain. Once they were out, they swam to shore, coughing and sputtering.

" _Now_ where are we?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Still hopelessly lost," Trembly sighed. "We might as well face it. It's all over. We'll never find our way back now."

"Don't say that, Trembly," Brave Paw said. "Remember, Laughing Paw's counting on us. And I'm not about to let her down!"

"Me neither," Mighty Paw said. "After all, it isn't over until it's over!"

"Who's to say it isn't over now?" Trembly asked.

"Come on, you guys," Brave Paw said. "Let's check over that hill. Maybe we can start over from there."

Immediately, Brave Paw and Mighty Paw ran for the hill. Trembly sighed and followed them. After all, he didn't have much choice, and he really didn't want to let Laughing Paw down, either.

Once the boys reached the top of the hill, they began looking around. Unfortunately, nothing looked familiar to them.

"We could be anywhere," Trembly said. "How are we going to get back to the village without the map?"

Mighty Paw turned around, to see if that would help them, and his jaw dropped slightly. He tapped both Brave Paw and Trembly's shoulders to get their attention.

"Hey, guys, look!" he shouted. Brave Paw and Trembly turned around, and looked. Before them was a lush green meadow filled with colorful flowers.

"We did it!" Brave Paw shouted. "We found a meadow!"

"Yahoo!" Trembly shouted.

"Yippee!" Mighty Paw cheered. "Come on! Let's go get those herbs!"

The three Paw Paws ran down the other side of the hill, excitedly.

"Now all we need is the eyebright and the lungwort and we'll be all set," Brave Paw said.

"But how do we find them?" Mighty Paw asked.

"I guess we should ask the people who live around here," Brave Paw said.

The three Paw Paws walked along, looking around for any signs of life. They finally found a group of tiny bears, like the Paw Paws, except they looked like they weren't part of a Native American tribe. They looked more like settlers.

"Excuse me!" Brave Paw called out to them. "I was wondering if you could help us."

The group of bears looked up, saw Brave Paw, and immediately screamed.

"Indians!" one of the bears yelled.

"Wild indians!" another yelled.

"We're under attack!" another shouted.

"Hide the women and children!" another yelled.

"Quick, before they scalp us!" another shouted.

The group of bears began running around in a panic, screaming like crazy. Brave Paw, Mighty Paw, and Trembly looked at each other oddly. A moment later, a larger bear, about Mighty Paw's size, came toward them. He held his hand up to them.

"How!" he shouted.

"How what?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Me name Adam Grizzly," the bear said. "Me head of paleface bears. Big chief here. We be friends with injun bears. Injuns no need to scalpum palefaces! We trade heap big wampum, you betum!"

"What's he talking about?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Sounds like he's been watching too many old western movies," Brave Paw said. "Look, friend, we don't want any trouble here."

"You speak English?" Adam asked.

"Sure we speak English," Brave Paw said. "And we're not here to attack anybody."

"Don't you believe it!" another one of the bears shouted. "All indians are alike! Blood thirsty savages!"

"Blood thirsty?" Mighty Paw asked. "Who, us?"

"We're just looking for some herbs," Brave Paw said. "We need eyebright and lungwort."

"Lies! All lies!" the bear shouted.

"Take it easy, Woody," Adam said.

"You've seen all those movies!" Woody shouted to the other bears. "All indians ever do is run around scalping people and attack settlers! They're nothing but savages!"

"No, really," Trembly said. "We need those herbs to help cure our sick friend."

"Hah!" Woody shouted, right in Trembly's face. "That's a laugh! Indians don't _have_ any friends! All they think about is themselves! They're selfish, blood thirsty savages! They don't even help their own kind!"

Some of the other bears voiced their agreement. Trembly wasn't one for confrontation, but Woody's stereotyping was starting to make him mad.

"I don't care what you've seen in those old western movies, pal, but they are _not_ true!" he shouted. "We Paw Paws are sworn to help the creatures of the forest, and that _does_ include 'our own kind,' thank you very much! And if you're not going to help us, then we'll just have to help ourselves! Stand aside!"

And with that, Trembly pushed the loud-mouth bear aside, and started walking toward the flowers in the meadow. Brave Paw and Mighty Paw followed him.

"Good job, Trembly," Brave Paw said. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

"Yeah, I didn't even know you had it in you!" Mighty Paw shouted.

"Truthfully, Mighty Paw," Trembly said, and he began to sound like his nervous old self again, "neither did I."


	7. The Flying Contraption

The three Paw Paws walked further into the meadow, and began looking around. Adam and Woody followed them.

"Wow!" Brave Paw shouted. "Looks like we hit the jackpot on eyebright, guys!"

"Hmph," Woody grumbled. "Good luck with that. I'd like to see you guys try to get the lungwort."

"What do you mean?" Mighty Paw asked, as he put some of the eyebright into the backpack.

"There it is, up there," Woody said, somewhat smugly. "Plain as day."

Woody pointed upward, and the three Paw Paws looked. There was the lungwort, growing at the top of a high cliff.

"Whoa," Mighty Paw said, looking up. "How do we get that?"

"The sides of this cliff are too steep for climbing," Brave Paw said, assessing the situation. "And I'm not sure lowering one of us from the top of it would do much good, either."

"It looks hopeless," Trembly said.

"Looks like the one little, two little, three little indians have a heap big problem!" Woody shouted, and then he started laughing. The three Paw Paws ignored him, and continued trying to think of a way to get the lungwort.

"Pay no attention to Woody," Adam said, walking up to the Paw Paws. "He enjoys picking fights."

"Too bad we don't have Golden Thunder," Trembly said. "Then you could just fly up there and get it, Brave Paw."

"Fly," Brave Paw repeated. "That's it! We'll fly up there and get it!"

"Fly?" Adam asked, sounding confused. "You don't really mean that, do you?"

"What are you gonna do?" Woody asked. "Flap your little paws and fly like birdies?"

"Yeah, Brave Paw, I don't get it," Mighty Paw said.

"I have an idea," Brave Paw said. "We'll build an airplane!"

"An airplane?" Trembly asked.

"Sure," Brave Paw said. "If the humans can do it, then so can we!"

"Are you sure this will work?" Trembly asked, nervously.

"Sure it'll work!" Mighty Paw shouted. "If we work together, it'll work!"

"Come on, guys!" Brave Paw shouted. "Let's get started."

Brave Paw took a stick and began drawing up some plans in the dirt. Then he, Mighty Paw, and Trembly began gathering the things they needed in order to build their airplane. Once they had all their supplies together, they began building. The other bears just watched on, not sure what to think. It took most of the morning, but the three Paw Paws managed to finish their flying machine.

"Not bad," Mighty Paw said.

"Yeah, it really looks like it might fly," Trembly said.

"Well, time to put it to the test," Brave Paw said. "Mighty Paw, you steer. Trembly, you and I will work the wings."

"We will?" Trembly asked. "Uhh, uhhh . . . . I, uhhh . . . ."

"Come on, Trembly," Mighty Paw said. "Now's not the time to get scared on us!"

"Right, we have to get that lungwort and back to the village before tonight," Brave Paw said. "Or Laughing Paw's a goner!"

Trembly gulped, summoned up whatever courage he had, and followed Brave Paw to the mechanism they built to flap the wings. The two of them began cranking, and the wings began flapping. The other bears looked on amazed, as the contraption began moving.

"Heh," Woody scoffed. "They'll never get off the ground."

Nobody paid any attention to Woody. They were paying more attention to the Paw Paws' flying contraption. The machine rose a few inches at first, but then the wind picked up, lifting the machine into the air further.

"We did it!" Brave Paw shouted.

"We're flying!" Mighty Paw shouted.

The other bears (save for Woody) began cheering as the Paw Paws' flying contraption soared toward the cliff. When they got closer to it, Mighty Paw locked the wings.

"We're on full glide now," he said. "Get ready to grab the lungwort, Trembly!"

" _Me_?!" Trembly shouted, and he began to stammer incoherently.

"Take it easy, Trembly," Brave Paw said. "I'll get it."

"Well, if you insist," Trembly said, heaving a sigh of relief.

Brave Paw began to climb up the pole that held up the wings. He was going to climb out on the edge of one of the wings to grab the lungwort.

"Be careful up there, Brave Paw!" Mighty Paw shouted. "The wind's picking up!"

Unfortunately, the wind was beginning to make it harder for Mighty Paw to steer. He accidentally scraped the wing against the side of the cliff, and the friction caused Brave Paw to lose his grip, and he slid right off the wing.

"Whooooaaaaa!" he yelled as he fell.

"Brave Paw!" both Trembly and Mighty Paw shouted in unison.

"Take it down, Mighty Paw!" Trembly shouted. "And hurry!"

"Right!" Mighty Paw shouted

Mighty Paw turned the wheel as hard as he could in an attempt to catch Brave Paw. He managed to get ahead of his friend, and Brave Paw was able to grab onto the wing of the contraption, which stopped his fall, but now he was hanging for dear life.

"Mighty Paw, do something!" Trembly shouted.

"Like what?!" Mighty Paw shouted. "I'm trying to steer! You're gonna have to do it!"

Trembly froze like a deer in the headlights. Then he gulped, and started climbing out onto the wing.

"Hurry, Trembly!" Brave Paw shouted. "I don't think I can hold on much longer!"

Trembly gulped again. He wasn't sure he could do this, but he knew if he didn't, Brave Paw was a goner. Just as Trembly reached the edge of the wing, Brave Paw lost his grip.

"Whoooaaa!" he shouted.

"Ack!" Trembly yelled, and grabbed onto Brave Paw's wrist, just in the nick of time. Brave Paw breathed a sigh of relief, and swung himself into the gondola.

"Thanks, Trembly!" he called.

"Everybody okay?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Oh sure, if you like holding on for dear life at five thousand feet," Trembly muttered.

"Okay, then," Mighty Paw said. "We're going back for the lungwort!"

"I wish he hadn't said that," Trembly moaned, and he dug his fingers in deeper into the wing.

Mighty Paw turned the machine around, but when they reached the spot where the lungwort was, they found it was gone.

"Oh no!" Brave Paw shouted.

"I guess we failed," Mighty Paw sighed.

"Wait a minute, you guys!" Trembly shouted. "We haven't failed!"

"Huh?" Mighty Paw asked.

Brave Paw ran to the other side of the gondola, and looked. There on the wing was the lungwort. Trembly gulped once more, and crawled toward the edge of the wing, managed to grab the lungwort, and then crawled back into the gondola. The other bears began jumping up and down cheering for the Paw Paws.

"You did it, Trembly!" Brave Paw shouted.

"Way to go!" Mighty Paw shouted.

"Weren't nothing, really," Trembly said, putting the lungwort into the backpack. "All in a hero's days work."

"I'll say," Brave Paw said. "Crawling out on the wing like that, considering how high up we are . . ."

"Yeah, if you had fallen, you might've ended up flatter than a pancake!" Mighty Paw shouted.

"Flatter than a . . . ." Trembly started, as the realization of what had happened finally hit him, and then he keeled over in a dead faint. Brave Paw laughed and shook his head.

"Come on, Mighty Paw, let's head back to the village!" he shouted.


	8. Return of the Humans

It was getting close to sunset as the three Paw Paws were heading back to the village. Brave Paw was doing the navigating, while Trembly was still out of it.

"I think we're on the right track," Brave Paw said. "There are those digging monsters we came across."

"Better wake up Sleeping Beauty," Mighty Paw said.

"Right," Brave Paw said. He kneeled down, grabbed Trembly's shoulder, and shook it.

"Come on, Trembly, rise and shine," he said. "You've been out cold long enough."

"Are we back to the village yet?" Trembly asked, somewhat groggily.

"No, but we will be soon," Brave Paw said, pulling Trembly to his feet.

"Hopefully we'll make it back before nightfall," Mighty Paw said. "It's starting to get dark."

"So soon?" Brave Paw asked.

Brave Paw and Mighty Paw looked at the sky, and noticed it was starting to get dark, but it wasn't because of the sun setting. The darkness came from huge black clouds. A crack of lightning flashed and thunder boomed, as rain began to pour. To the three Paw Paws, that only meant one thing.

"Thunder storm!" Brave Paw shouted.

"I think you brought me out of that faint too soon," Trembly moaned.

"Well, don't faint on us again!" Mighty Paw shouted. "We might need you to help control this thing!"

Immediately, the three Paw Paws took their stations, in an attempt to control their flyer, but the wind and rain didn't make it easy. Mighty Paw had to swerve violently to avoid getting hit by lightning.

"Whew!" he breathed. "That was a close one!"

"B-b-b-but not as close as that one's gonna be!" Trembly shouted.

"Look out for the telephone pole!" Brave Paw shouted, and he and Trembly ducked down.

"What telephone pole?" Mighty Paw asked, looking straight ahead. Unfortunately, he hadn't noticed the telephone pole in the path of the flyer and crashed into it. Sparks flew everywhere. Thankfully, the three Paw Paws weren't hurt, but one of the wings was ignited by the sparks, and Mighty Paw lost control of it.

" _That_ telephone pole," Trembly said.

"Hang on, everybody!" Mighty Paw shouted. "I'm gonna have to make an emergency landing!"

"Brace yourselves!" Brave Paw shouted.

Trembly began stammering incoherently again, dove down on his stomach, and gripped the floor of the flyer. He didn't know what else to do anyway. Though Mighty Paw tried, he was unable to pull the flyer out of the screaming dive it was in, and it crashed to the ground, skidded, and only stopped when it hit a tree. Thankfully, the Paw Paws were in one piece when they landed.

"Wow, what a ride," Brave Paw said. "But we made it!"

"From now on, I'm leaving the flying to the horses," Trembly said, climbing out of the contraption.

"Well, where are we now?" Mighty Paw asked, looking around.

Brave Paw climbed out of the flyer, and looked around. In the distance, he saw a familiar sight.

"We're right where we need to be," he said. "Look! There's the village!"

"All right!" Mighty Paw shouted. "Let's go, you guys!"

Mighty Paw grabbed his backpack, and ran toward the emergency station. Brave Paw and Trembly followed, close behind him. When they reached it, they ran inside as fast as they could.

"Wise Paw! Princess!" Brave Paw called out.

"Brave Paw!" Princess Paw Paw shouted. "You're back! Did you find the herbs?"

"We got 'em right here," Mighty Paw said, handing Medicine Paw the backpack.

"How's Laughing Paw?" Trembly asked.

"Not well, I'm afraid," Medicine Paw said. "She's slipping fast."

"Has there been any sign of the others?" Brave Paw asked.

"None, I'm afraid," Wise Paw said. "You better hurry with those herbs, Medicine Paw."

Suddenly, Pupooch began barking, and a light shone brightly outside, followed by strange noises.

"What's that?!" Trembly shouted.

"Something's going on outside," Brave Paw said, and he ran to check it out. Princess Paw Paw followed him, and they both gasped.

"Father!" the princess shouted. "Come here and look!"

Wise Paw ran over to look. Medicine Paw handed his mortar and pestle to Nurse Paw and followed. Mighty Paw and Trembly followed. When Medicine Paw looked, he gasped.

"It's them!" he shouted. "It's those . . . . those humans!"

Outside the emergency station, there were several men wearing hazmat suits, gas masks, and headlights. They had giant black bags, and they were scooping up the dead leaves and plants into them. One of them was shining a large flashlight all over the area.

"They look even worse than I thought they'd look like!" Mighty Paw shouted.

"We must run, my children," Wise Paw said. "Mighty Paw, you take Laughing Paw. We have to get away!"

Mighty Paw immediately wrapped Laughing Paw in a blanket, picked her up, and ran out of the shelter, followed by the others. Princess Paw Paw took her magic flute, and called Flying Cloud and Golden Thunder. She and Brave Paw mounted their horses, and took to the air. Before they took off, Pupooch jumped onto Flying Cloud as well. The others ran out on foot. Unfortunately, they found that these humans were everywhere. Might Paw, Trembly, Wise Paw, Medicine Paw, and Nurse Paw ducked behind a rock, just as the beam from one of the humans' flashlights caught them. Brave Paw and the princess landed to regroup.

"We should split up," Mighty Paw said. "They'll have a harder time catching us that way!"

"I'm not sure that's the wisest of ideas," Wise Paw said.

"I'm not waiting around to find out what the best course of action is!" Trembly shouted, as he saw a light coming. "I'm getting out of here!"

And with that, Trembly took off running, in a state of sheer panic. When he was in this state, nothing could make him stop running. Since he was so panicked, he didn't see an above ground tree root in his path, and he wound up tripping head over heels over it, then rolled down an embankment, and straight into, of all things, a cage, which closed and locked the minute he was inside of it.

"Trembly!" Princess Paw Paw gasped.

"Oh no, we must've missed one of the traps!" Brave Paw shouted.

"What do we do now?" Mighty Paw asked.

"I'm going in!" Brave Paw shouted. "Come on, Golden Thunder!"

"No, you fool!" Medicine Paw shouted, grabbing Golden Thunder's tail. "If you go, they'll get you, too!"

"Well, we can't stand here and do nothing!" Mighty Paw shouted. "We've got to get Trembly out of that trap before . . . ."

"It's too late!" Princess Paw Paw shouted. "Look! Here comes one of those humans!"

The human had heard the trap go off, and came to investigate. Trembly began panicking again, only this time, there was nowhere to run. He grabbed the sides of the cage, and tried to pull on them, hoping that would do some good, but he knew it wouldn't. The human picked up the cage, and just looked inside of it. Then he put it on the ground, opened it, and reached inside. Trembly nervously backed into the cage as far as he could go, stammering. The human managed to grab him, and pull him out. Trembly tried to pull himself out of the human's grip, but it wasn't going to work. The human looked around, and his headlight happened to shine on the other Paw Paws. There was nowhere for them to run, or hide. The human stood up, and walked over toward them. Then he put Trembly down on the ground, with the others.

"There ya go, fella," he said. "Back with your little friends, safe and sound."

The Paw Paws looked up at the human, a bit dumbfounded. Before anyone could say anything, they heard a strange sound. They looked, and saw the human stomping his foot on the cage, destroying it. Then he picked it up, and put it in his bag.

"Well, what do you know about that?" Medicine Paw said. "I never thought I'd see the day . . . ."

"Okay, everybody!" another human shouted. "Everything's all cleaned up in this area!"

"I guess humans aren't the monsters you said they were, huh, Medicine Paw?" Brave Paw asked.

"I . . . . I guess I was wrong," Medicine Paw said, still a bit dumbfounded. "I guess not _all_ humans are monsters after all."

"Come on, everybody, we can't just stand here all night!" Mighty Paw shouted. "We've still got work to do!"

"Right," Brave Paw said. "Follow me, everybody!"

"Where are we going?" Wise Paw asked.

"Somewhere where we'll be safe from the humans, and the poisonous gas," Brave Paw said, and he led the other Paw Paws to where he, Mighty Paw, and Trembly had crashed when they returned.

Once the Paw Paws reached the crash site, they immediately picked up where he had left off. Brave Paw took the lungwort out of the backpack, and handed it to Medicine Paw. Mighty Paw then tilted Laughing Paw's head upward so her mouth opened. Medicine Paw squeezed the lungwort until the juice came out of it and fell into Laughing Paw's mouth. Then, Mighty Paw handed Medicine Paw the eyebright, and Nurse Paw handed him the mortar and pestle. Medicine Paw began grinding the herb until it was dust. Then he stuck his finger in the mortar, and rubbed the dust from the eyebright onto Laughing Paw's eyes. Laughing Paw coughed and moaned.

"Did we make it in time?" Brave Paw asked.

"We'll know by morning," Medicine Paw said.

"But whatever happens, you three should know you did your best," Princess Paw Paw said.

"I just hope our best was good enough," Mighty Paw said.

The others agreed, and then decided to get some sleep. There wasn't much else they could do at this point.


	9. Return to the Village

Pupooch was the first one to wake up by sunrise. He yawned, and stretched, and then started barking to get the others' attention.

"Is it morning already?" Princess Paw Paw asked.

"I guess so," Brave Paw said. "Come on, let's go check on Laughing Paw."

The Paw Paws then walked over to Laughing Paw, who was still unconscious. Pupooch whimpered, and pawed at her.

"Laughing Paw?" Princess Paw Paw asked, hoping to get a response, but there wasn't any.

"We were too late," Mighty Paw sighed.

"Don't feel bad, my children," Wise Paw said. "You've done everything possible."

"But we were still too late," Trembly said.

The Paw Paws just stood there, not knowing what else to do or say. Princess Paw Paw then buried her face in her paws and began crying. Brave Paw hugged her comfortingly. Trembly, Mighty Paw, Wise Paw, Medicine Paw, and Nurse Paw hung their heads. Pupooch started whimpering. He nudged Laughing Paw with his nose, and then gave her face a small lick. Then, Laughing Paw's eyelids fluttered, and she began sitting up.

"Pupooch?" she asked, and then she looked around at the other Paw Paws. "What's going on? How come everybody looks so sad?"

"Laughing Paw!" Brave Paw shouted. "You're all right!"

"Sure I'm all right," Laughing Paw said, with a yawn. "I just had a long nap, that's all."

The other Paw Paws laughed, as they all began hugging Laughing Paw, talking at once. Pupooch then began barking, and there was some rustling in the grass.

"What is it, Pupooch?" Princess Paw Paw asked.

Everyone looked toward the rustling, and out of the grass came Loud Paw and Little Paw, followed by Posey Paw, and their other sister, and two brothers, looking around.

"Mighty Paw!" both Loud Paw and Little Paw shouted in unison, and they ran over to their oldest brother, nearly tackling him to the ground.

"Hey!" Mighty Paw shouted, giving the twins the biggest hug he could muster. "Where were all of you guys?"

"Mama and Papa took us deep into the forest," Loud Paw said.

"Until she knew it was safe to come back to the village," Posey Paw said, as she and the rest of Mighty Paw's siblings joined the hug-fest.

Soon, several more Paw Paws began coming out of the grass, looking around. Pupooch barked happily when he saw Laughing Paw's parents come out of the grass.

"Mama!" Laughing Paw shouted, launching into her mother's arms. "I'm so glad to see you!"

"So am I," Laughing Paw's mother said, close to tears.

"We missed you so much," her father said.

Pretty soon, the entire Paw Paw population emerged from the grass. Everyone was talking at once about what had happened. Trembly began looking around, trying to find his sister, but he didn't see her anywhere, and everyone else had already arrived. He sighed, and started to head back to the village with the other Paw Paws.

"Trembly?" he then heard someone call from the distance. Quickly, Trembly turned around, and saw his sister emerge from the grass.

"Lily!" he shouted, rushing over. He grabbed Lily Paw, and held her close.

"Lily, I thought I'd never see you again!" he shouted.

"Me too, Trembly!" Lily Paw shouted. "I didn't want to leave without you, I felt I just couldn't!"

"Come on, everybody!" Brave Paw shouted. "Let's head back to the village!"

All of the Paw Paws cheered and began walking toward the village, though their spirits began falling when they saw the damage the gas had done to the forest.

"I guess nothing's ever going to be the same around here again," Princess Paw Paw said.

"Well, my dear," Wise Paw said, "if we all work hard together to save the forest, just like Brave Paw, Mighty Paw, and Trembly Paw worked to save Laughing Paw, then, some day, it will be."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Mighty Paw asked.

"Yeah, let's get started!" Brave Paw shouted.

All the other Paw Paws began voicing their agreement, and immediately began trying to repair the damage. They had a lot of work to do, but they knew it would be worth it.

The End


End file.
